The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of the man charged with killing a Charleston police officer in 2020. Joshua Phillips to was sentenced to the maximum of 40 in prison by Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey for the second-degree murder of Charleston police officer Cassie Johnson in December 2020. Phillips appealed his conviction alleging trial and evidentiary error and insufficiency of the evidence, but Eyewitness News said the courts found no abuse of discretion regarding the court’s ruling. A memorial scholarship fund was established in honor of the fallen officer and state lawmakers passed the Patrol Officer Cassie Marie Johnson Memorial Act in 2023 that increased penalties for those that cause the death of the officer.